Chapter 6: Divine Beast, Lord Fuzhu |
“I understand, Martial Uncle Li. I’ll head over right away.” Lu Fengmian answered as calmly as possible, cutting off that hypnotic, endlessly looping cry for help.
At the same time, he pushed the spiritual energy beneath his feet to its limit and sped toward the Spirit Beast Garden.
I had to succeed! I absolutely could not fail!
For the peace of Luo Xia Peak, for his dangerously receding hairline, for the last shred of dignity I had left as a senior brother!
The Spirit Beast Garden occupied the entire mountain peak. Its vegetation was lush, and the spiritual energy there was denser than anywhere else.
At the entrance, a middle-aged cultivator in a brown steward’s robe, his hair somewhat disheveled, was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.
The moment he saw Lu Fengmian, his eyes lit up, and he practically pounced on him.
“Disciple Lu! You finally came!”
Steward Li grabbed Lu Fengmian’s sleeve in one swift motion, as though clutching a lifeline. His voice trembled, carrying the relief of a survivor who had escaped disaster. “If you hadn’t come, I truly wouldn’t have known what to do!”
Yet inwardly, he muttered to himself: Judging from the scene in front of him, this was definitely no small matter.
Steward Li wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained the whole sequence of events.
“It was like this. Today was supposed to be the regular day for Lord Fuzhu’s spirit-pattern cultivation and fur maintenance. Normally, Elder Sun handled it personally, but a few days ago, Elder Sun happened to be invited to attend the Beast-Taming Sect’s ‘Myriad Beasts Worship Assembly,’ and he won’t be back until next month...”
He caught his breath and continued,
“Before leaving, Elder Sun specifically instructed that because Lord Fuzhu’s spiritual energy circulation had been somewhat sluggish lately, it needed to be regulated with the ‘Gentle Water Technique’ together with the sap of a three-hundred-year moonlight flower to help guide his spiritual energy.”
“I prepared everything strictly according to the elder’s instructions! Not one drop more, not one drop less of the evening primrose juice, and I’ve already practiced the ‘Soft Water Technique’ for three months—I felt I’d already achieved some minor success.”
Steward Li sounded both aggrieved and confused.
“But I don’t know why. I’d only combed him a few times when Lord Fuzhu became unhappy! With one flick of his tail, he blew the jade comb out of my hand, then used a stream of water to wash me out of the immortal cave and sealed the entrance shut.”
The more he spoke, the more flustered he became.
“Disciple Lu, don’t you think I’ve been wronged? I did everything exactly as instructed! If the spirit-pattern cultivation keeps getting delayed and affects the master’s cultivation, then when Elder Sun comes back, I’m afraid I’ll have to spend ten years facing a wall in the back mountain!”
After hearing that, Lu Fengmian had a rough understanding of the situation.
Lord Fuzhu was an ancient and rare Divine Beast. He resembled a white deer, had four horns, and was snow-white all over. He was an auspicious Divine Beast that governed marshes and waters, and one of the Lingyun Sect’s eight guardian divine beasts.
As for his temperament, based on Lu Fengmian’s limited contact with him, he was not ill-tempered, but he was extremely picky—especially when it came to the cleanliness and smoothness of his own fur.
“So, Martial Uncle Li, you brought me here in order to...” Lu Fengmian asked politely, even though he already knew the answer.
“To ask for your help!” Steward Li pressed his palms together, his face full of pleading.
“Disciple Lu, I heard that quite a few spirit beast lords were especially fond of you! Last time, when Lord Luwu’s mane got tangled, you were the one who combed it out, right? And the time Lord Bifang was in a bad mood and burned down half the forest, you were the one who soothed him, right? This time, I’m afraid only you can turn the tide!”
The corner of Lu Fengmian’s mouth twitched slightly.
How had these “achievements” spread around? He had clearly only wanted to keep a low profile and quietly be a senior brother, so how had even providing psychological counseling and fur care for spirit beasts become part of his job description?
Still, looking at Steward Li’s expression, which was on the verge of tears, and thinking of the fury Elder Sun might unleash upon his return, Lu Fengmian nodded.
“I’ll go and try, but I can’t guarantee success,” he said cautiously.
“Good, good, good! As long as you’re willing to try, that’s enough! Thank you, Junior Brother Lu! Ah, no, I should be thanking Senior Brother!”
Steward Li was so moved that tears glistened in his eyes. He immediately led Lu Fengmian deeper into the Spirit Beast Garden.
Lord Fuzhu’s immortal cave was located beside a quiet cold pool on the northern side of the mountain. The pool water was so clear that its bottom could be seen. Spiritual energy curled through the air, and rare crystal ice bamboo surrounded the area.
At that moment, the cave entrance was sealed by a pale-blue curtain of water, radiating an unmistakable aura of “no entry.”
Steward Li stopped more than ten zhang away and did not dare go any closer. He signaled to Lu Fengmian with his eyes: that was the situation.
Lu Fengmian adjusted his robe and walked to the watery curtain. He did not force his way through. Instead, he clasped his hands in salute and said, “This disciple heard that Lord Fuzhu was in poor spirits today, so I came especially to pay my respects. May I ask whether I may enter and see you?”
The water curtain remained silent for a while, and just as Lu Fengmian thought the other party had no intention of responding—
The pale-blue screen rippled slightly, like waves on water, revealing an opening just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Steward Li stared from behind with his jaw hanging open—he had just been thrown straight out! He hadn’t even been given a chance to speak!
Lu Fengmian gave Steward Li a slight nod and walked in.
The inside of the immortal cave was not dark at all. On the contrary, it was bright and spacious. Several enormous luminous pearls were embedded in the cave ceiling, illuminating the interior as brightly as day.
The floor was paved with smooth, warm jade. In the corners were piled some translucent spirit stones and fragrant spiritual herbs.
In the center of the immortal cave, a strange beast of elegant bearing and pure snow-white color was lying on its side atop a soft cloud-floss carpet.
It was Lord Fuzhu.
His form was slender, and his fur was as smooth as the finest silk; his four jade-like horns were crystal clear and emitted a faint chilly gleam.
Yet at this very moment, his ice-blue eyes were half-closed, clearly carrying dissatisfaction, and his long tail was rhythmically striking the ground.
When he saw Lu Fengmian enter, Lord Fuzhu lifted his eyelids and exhaled a cloud of icy white mist from his nose.
Lu Fengmian’s expression did not change in the slightest. He bowed once more and said, “Respectful greetings, Lord Fuzhu.”
Lord Fuzhu did not speak. He merely turned his head to the side.
Lu Fengmian looked in that direction and saw a damaged jade comb lying on the ground, with an overturned jade bottle beside it. The air was filled with the scent of evening primrose juice.
“This disciple heard that Steward Li failed to satisfy you. Was the combing technique wrong, or was this evening primrose sap not to your taste?” Lu Fengmian asked sincerely.
Lord Fuzhu finally spoke. “This technique was unbearably crude, like scraping scales with a dull blade. The flow of spiritual energy was stiff and rigid, all form and no essence. This tree sap was stale, boiled three times to excess, and its spiritual energy had long since dissipated completely.”
Lu Fengmian understood.
Steward Li had indeed followed the rules, but rules were rigid, while spirit beasts were living creatures.
Lord Fuzhu’s spiritual energy circulation today might have differed from usual, requiring finer and more delicate regulating techniques.
As for the moonlight flower sap, there had most likely been a small mistake somewhere in its preparation.
For ordinary people or low-level spirit beasts, that might not have mattered much, but for an ancient exotic beast with keen senses and exacting standards, it was an intolerable flaw.
“It was our oversight.” Lu Fengmian did not make excuses and frankly admitted it. “Would you be willing to give this disciple one chance to make amends? I recently obtained a cultivation method for regulating spiritual energy and guiding the meridians. Perhaps I could give it a try.”
Lord Fuzhu’s ice-blue eyes examined him for a moment. After a brief pause, he lay down on his side again and turned the graceful curve of his back toward Lu Fengmian. That counted as tacit permission.
Lu Fengmian felt relieved.
He walked to Lord Fuzhu’s side and first took out a smaller, more exquisite jade bottle from his storage ring. As soon as he pulled out the stopper, an even fresher and purer fragrance rushed out, carrying the scent of moonlight and plants.
This was the system-produced “Moonlight Dew.” Its effects were several times stronger than ordinary moonlight flower plant sap, and he did not have much of it in stock either.
Then he took a deep breath, and a soft pale-blue spiritual glow emerged from both hands—not the “Gentle Water Technique,” but the “Spiritual Energy Guidance Technique” recorded in the system reward 《Complete Guide to Fur Care》.
This technique could not only groom fur, but through contact, it could also help the target guide the spiritual energy accumulated within its body and soothe its emotions.
Starting from Lord Fuzhu’s neck, his fingers gently passed through that cloudlike, snow-white fur, and spiritual energy seeped into it like a trickling stream.
Lord Fuzhu’s body stiffened slightly, then slowly relaxed. His ice-blue eyes closed in satisfaction, and his tail stopped its impatient tapping as well.